Apparatus for the manufacture of artificial filaments, threads, and the like



y 1954 K. M. MCLELLAN 2,684,584

APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF ARTIFICIAL Y FILAMENTS, THREADS. AND THE LIKE Filed Jan. 23, 1951 INVENTOR. KENNETH M. MCLELLAN JZm/ 29 m ATTORNEY Patented July 27, 1954 APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF ARTIFICIAL FILAMEN TS, THREADS, AND

THE LIKE Kenneth'MuMcLellan, Cleveland, Ohio, assignor to -f Industrial Rayon Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporationof Delaware Application January 23, 1951;"Serial No. 207,402

2 Claims.

This invention relates to-amethod of and apparatus for the manufacture of artificial filaments, threads, and the like.

In the manufacture of viscose-rayon thread the viscose is extruded through a spinneret having a plurality of small openings; each of which forms a filament, when extruded into an acid filament coagulatingbathto form a thread. The thread is withdrawn from the bath with substantial quantities of the bath liquid adhering to it. The bath liquid contains metallic salts in solution which tend to crystallize out upon evaporation leaving a salt deposit on the thread, or on a spool, or on a thread advancing, thread'storing reel. The presence of salt crystals is objectionable since their presence tends to endanger the filaments forming the thread.

Where, as in continuous viscose spinning processes, thread storing, thread advancing reels are utilized for the processing of thread the salt crystals tend to form at substantially the take-up portion of such reels. Because of the rapid rate of withdrawal the build-up of salt crystals soon endangers the thread tending to either injure or break the filaments forming the thread. Salt crystal formation has been reduced by introducing atomized water sprays or by the formation of a highly humid or moist atmospher about a take-up or collecting spool, or about the entire spinning path of the thread. The moist or highly humid atmospheres tend to keep the salts in solution until they are subsequently washed out in a later treatment.

Of the several processing steps performed on V a thread in continuous spinning there is the final treatment of drying the thread. The thread is stored and advanced over a reel while a temperature changing medium such as steam or hot water is circulated through its interior. It is the purpose of thi invention to utilize the circulating fluid used for heating the dryer reel to humidify the atmosphere about the withdrawing reel. Rather than returning the steam or the hot water to its originating source it is desirably recirculated and redirected to about the thread withdrawing and storing reel to provide about such reel a warm and humid or moist atmosphere to thus prevent the formation of salt crystals, and to also further regeneration of the thread.

This invention advantageously utilizes the recirculated steam from the drying treatment of the thread, redirecting such steam to a steam header or similar device positioned adjacent the filament withdrawing reels; and from which header the steam is forced out into the atmosphere about the withdrawing "reels. The steam' surface until the thread filaments are substantially fullyregeneratedwhen" they are subjected toa washing treatment. A further advantage inusing the dryer reel-recirculated steam' supply is that steam traps and other equipment generally are eliminated, and the mixture of steam and condensate which flows to the header is at an advantageous temperature to further the regeneration of the thread.

The invention will be more readily understood from the following specification and the accompanying drawing where:

Figure 1 represents a schematic layout of a portion of a rayon spinning machine, and

Figure 2 represents in a diagrammatic manner the envelopment of a plurality of take-up reels by steam recirculated from the dryer reels.

Referring to the drawing there is shown a spinneret H3 positioned in a coagulating bath H extruding a thread [2 being continually withdrawn by a reel l5 positioned above the bath. The thread is led from the reel 15 to further subsequent processin reels l6, l9 and to the dryer reel 23. The thread is subjected to treatment on the various reels as it travels over them. The final treatment of the thread generally is that of drying on the dryer reel 20.

The temperature changing medium that is generally used for heating the dryer reels 20 is steam. Of course other heating mediums such as hot water, or hot gases can be and are utilized in other processes. There is shown a supply 22 furnishing steam to the drying reel 20. Usually the steam is supplied under some desirable pressure for circulation within the dryer reel. After circulating through the dryer reel 20 rather than lead the steam back to its source it is instead led through a side take-01f conduit 26 to a manifold 28 which is positioned beneath and adjacent the withdrawing or take-up reel [5. The steam flowing from the manifold 28 is forced outwardly toward and about the reel [5 enveloping and wettin it and the thread to thus substantially prevent the formation of salt crystals.

The use Of recirculated steam from the dryer reel 20 advantageously removes the problem of condensate formation and removal from Within such reel since the steam-condensate mixture is forced out in to the conduit 26 which is open to the atmosphere through the openings 30 of the header 28. Where only low pressure steam is desirable about the take-up reel [5 and no condensate liquid a line trap 3| can be inserted at the lowest portion of the conduit 26 to separate out the condensate.

Iclaim:

1. An apparatus for continuously treating thread containing water-soluble salts comprising, at least two thread advancing thread store devices each comprising two members mounted for rotation about axes eccentric to each other, each of said thread store devices being adapted to advance thread in the form of a helix, one of said thread-store devices having a chamber within its thread supporting periphery for the circulation of a temperature changing medium therethrough, said circulating medium being steam, means for supplying steam to said one of said thread store thread advancing devices for circulation therethrough, and means for passing the same temperature-changing fluid about the periphery of the other of said thread store devices after it has passed through the said one of said thread store devices, said steam wetting the periphery of said other thread store device and maintaining said water soluble salts in solution.

2. In a thread processing apparatus, a plurality of reels for advancing and processing thread in a sequence of steps, one of said plurality of reels being a thread withdrawing reel and another of said plurality of reels being a thread drying reel having a chamber within its thread supporting periphery for the circulation of a temperature changing medium therethrough, a temperature changing medium supply for supplying heat to the said chamber of said dryer reel, an inlet to said chamber for said temperature changing medium heat supply to said dryer reel and an outlet therefrom, and means connected to the outlet of said dryer reel and for conducting said temperature changing heating medium to adjacent said withdrawing reel, said means exhausting said temperature changing medium at said Withdrawing reel so as to substantially envelop the said reel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,042,529 Huttinger June 2, 1936 2,246,735 Kline et a1 June 24, 1941 2,393,595 Dawson June 29, 1946 2,468,081 Koster Apr. 26, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 257,449 Great Britain Sept. 2, 1926 

